Door latch



July 2, 1968 K. H. ERICKSON ETAL 3,390,557

DOOR LATCH 5 Sheets-Sheet l rtas Filed Oct Ag July 2, 1968 K. H. ERICKSON ET Ax. 3,390,557

DOOR LATCH 5 Sheets-Sheet Filed Oct. 6, 1965 MVSMTO C/)edar/-f C24. rgxff c al ldah' 6 l :Y I CAT-romiYJ July 2, 1968 K, H. EmcKsQN ETAL 3,390,557

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ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A latch with a lock which may (be operated from the outside by a key and on the inside by a manual member. A safety latch is disposed inside and, when in the active position, prevents unlocking by the key. Unlocking by the inside manual member, however, automatically moves the safety latch to the inactive position.

This invention relates to a door latch, and more particularly, to a `door latch especially adapted for use on sliding doors.

The general object -of this invention is to provide an improved, positive-latching and easy-to-operate door latch for use on sliding doors and the like.

A more specific object of this invention is to provide such a latch wherein the bolt and frame-mounted strike interlock in a manner to prevent unauthorized opening of the door from the outside by insertion of a knife blade or other tool between the door and frame.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved door latch which may be set to the latched and unlatched conditions after the'door is closed by actuating manual operators accessible on either side of the door, and which includes an easily operated safety lock for disabling one operator thereby preventing the unlatching of the door from the corresponding side.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved door latch which always is set automatically in the unlatched condition as the door is closed to prevent unintentional latching of the door.

A more speciiic object of this invention is to provide a door latch which is always moved to the unlocked position as the latch is unlatched to prevent unintentional locking of the door when it is closed.

A further object of this invention is to provide a 'door latch which always is unlatched as the door is closed, and which further includes a safety lock that cannot be actuated to lock the door when the latch is unlatched thereby to prevent the unintentional locking of the door on closing.

Another object of this invention is in providing an improved latch having a safety lock operable for preventing unlatching of the door from the outside, and wherein the latch may be both unlatched and unlocked by moving an inside operator for ease in opening the door when it is locked.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent in light of the following detailed description when taken in connection with the following drawings, iii which nited States Patent O Patented July 2, 1968 Mice FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view ot the latch mounted on a door.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along the line 3 3 of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the locking lever.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the bolt and associated key cylinder and locking lever.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view along the line 6-6 of FIG. 2 reduced in size,

FIGS. 7 and 8 are enlarged fragmentary views showing the interaction of the locking lever, key mechanism and bolt.

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing the bolt in the unlatched position,

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 showing the door being closed with the bolt in the latched position.

FIG. ll is an enlarged perspective view of the bolt,

FIG. 12 is a si'de elevation view of the hook,

FIG. 13 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line 13-13 in FIG. 3, and 1 FIG. 14 is an exploded View of the lower end of the atch.

In the drawings, the invention is shown for purposes of illustration incorporated in a latch particularly adapted for use with a -door 21 which is movable within a door frame towards and away from a stile 22 (FIG. 2) by reason of its being supported at the top and bottom by rails or a similar mechanism (not shown). One specific type of door in which this latch is useful is the so-called patio or sliding door. As shown, such doors usually have a frame 23, made of a hollow metal channel, for holding a center panel 24. The latch is mounted adjacent the leading edge end wall 25 of the door by inserting face plates 26 and 27 through openings 2S and 29 in the respective inside and outside walls and 31 `of the door. Screws 32 are passed through the inside face plate 26 and are threaded into the outside face plate 27 to draw the plates together until the flanges 33 thereon are snug against the door surfaces. Washers 34 are used for spacing the face plates apart to match the door thickness.

The door may be opened and closed by grasping a handle 37 held in place by the screws 32 on the inside of the door. A detent or pull 38 (FIG. 3) in the outside plate 27 can be used for moving the ldoor from the outside. A movable Ibolt 42 mounted on the door can be moved to the latched condition to cooperate with a stile supported strike to prevent opening of the door. Also, mounted in an opening 39 in the outside Iface plate is a key cylinder 40 into which a key 41 can be inserted and turned `for unlatching the door from the outside.

In accordance with the present invention, the movable bolt is positioned to one side of the edge of the door and the strike includes a portion which projects past the edge of the closed door and interlocks with the bolt at that point for latching the door closed, thereby preventing the unauthorized opening of the 'door which might otherwise be accomplished by inserting a knife blade between the door and stile. To these ends, the latch includes a |movable 'bolt 42 which supports a hook 43 for engagement with a strike 44 extending from the stile and projecting past the edge of the ldoor and through an opening 45 in the end Wall 25 of the door, for latching the door closed (FIGS. 6 and 9).

The bolt is positioned to one side of the door edge and includes an elongated body member 46 (FIG. 11) which is retained between a pair of upstanding wall members 47 projecting from the back surface 48 of the inside face plate 26, for sliding movement between vertically spaced up and down stations constituting the latched and unlatched positions thereof respectively. As shown primarily in FIGS. 3, 6 and 9, the bolt further in-cludes a boss 50 at the top which extends through an opening 49 and .alongside a wall 51 of the face plate 26. The bolt is held at the bottom by a hollow post 52 (FIGS. 11 and 14) which passes through an opening 54 in the body member `46, which opening is elongated in the direction of movement of the bolt. This post includes a center opening 55 through which the screw passes. A coiled spring 56 is centered about this post and is held compressed between a lip 58 on the inner end of the post and a washer 59 bearing against the bolt for holding it at either of the vertically spaced positions. This washer includes a hollow stem 60 projecting into the bolt opening 54 for holding the bolt in alinement, and also includes an enlarged flange 61 which rides along the face 62 of the bolt. To hold the bolt in the latched position, a land 63 is formed in the face 62 yat the upper end of the elongated opening 54. Thus as the bolt is pushed upward, the washer 59 rides down over the offset 64 forming the lower edge of this land and holds the bolt in the latched position where the hook 43 engages the strike 44.

The hook is made of a pair of sheet material members 43a held side by side on a boss 65 of the bolt by a screw 66. Each member is prevented from turning about the screw 66 by a lug 67 which tits into a channel 68a formed in an upstanding ange 68 extending from the lower end of the boss. Thus the hook is formed such that it can be mounted on the boss to extend in either direction (FIG. l2) so the latch can be used on either end of a door. Of course when the hook is turned in the opposite direction to that shown, usually the handle 37 is also turned to face in the opposite direction by inverting it on the screws 32 which supports it on the inside face plate. An upwardly extending tab 69 is formed at the outer projecting edge of the hook which interlocks with the strike when the bolt is moved to the latched position.

The strike 44 is mounted on the stile 22 in a manner to project parallel to the path of movement of the door and past the door edge when the door is closed. This strike includes a base plate 70 having openings 71 through which screws 72 may be driven for attaching it to the stile. An upstanding projection or head 73 extends from this plate (FIGS. 6 and 10) which is formed of a horizontally positioned top wall 74 and two vertically extended side walls 75. These walls are jointed at their outer extending edges by a wall member or nose piece 76 having a back face or surface 77 facing the stile and positioned between the walls. In latching the door, the hook is shifted upwards by movement of the bolt to bring the tab 69 between the side walls 75 and behind the nose piece 76 of the stiike to a position between the surface 77 of the nose piece and the stile. Thus the hook and strike are interlocked to prevent movement of the door away from the stile 22, with the spring biased washer 59 holding the bolt in this latched position. Since the strike and bolt interlock within the latch, any attempt to unlatch the door by inserting a knife blade between the door and stile is thwarted since contact cannot be made with the movable bolt in this manner.

In accordance with other aspects of the invention, un-

intentional latching of the door is prevented in that the strike and bolt cooperate to move the bolt to the unlatched condition when the door is closed. Further a manual operator on either side of the door may be moved to unlatch the latch for opening the door; and a safety lock, normally accessible from inside the door, may be set to the locked condition to disable the operator on the other side of the door. However to prevent also the unintentional locking of the door, each time the latch is unlatched the safety lock is automatically set in the unlocked condition and may not be moved so long as the lock is unlatched.

To prevent unintentional latching of the door the nose piece 76 on the strike is beveled .at the lower edge 78 along a diagonal extending downward from the top wall 74 towards the base plate 70 of the Strike, with the tab 69 on the bolt including a complementary upwardlybeveled edge 79. These beveled edges 78 and 79 serve as abutments which -contact and cam the bolt downward to the unlatched position when an attempt is made to close the door with the bolt in the latched position. By this arrangement the bolt is always set in the unlatched position as the door is closed, and any latching of the door must be accomplished by subsequent movement of the bolt.

For moving the bolt between the latched and unlatched positions, a manual member is located inside the door connecting with the bolt, and a key mechanism is accessible from outside the door for unlatching the latch by use of a key. Inside the door the manual member 80 is formed with a groove 80a in the boss 5G extending transversely of the bolt to serve as a tngerhold for moving the bolt vertically between the latched and unlatched positions. This manual member is set in a well 81 formed of the wall 51 and connecting walls 51a extending to the inside face plate 26 (FIGS. 1 and 3). This well serves to guide the bolt during vertical movement thereof and also protects the bolt against being unintentionally contacted and moved between the latched and unlatched positions.

Outside the door, the key cylinder 40 may be actuated by inserting and turning key 41 (FIG. 3) in the normal manner to move the bolt vertically. A pin 82 (FIGS. 5, 6 and 9) extends from the key cylinder through a triangular opening 83 in the bolt in a manner to serve as a connection therebetween for camming the bolt vertically within the latch with turning of the key. With the bolt in the down or unlatched position (FIG. 8) turning of the key so the key cylinder is rotated counterclockwise in the drawing brings the pin 82 into the upper corner of the triangular slot, to thereafter ride along the the edge 83a of the slot and cam the bolt upwardly to the latched position. With the bolt in the latched position as shown in FIG. 6, rotation of the key for turning the key cylinder in the clockwise direction causes the pin to contact the slot edge at the bottom corner and thereafter ride along the edge 83b to push the bolt downwardly to the unlocked position.

The key can only be removed from the key cylinder when in the vertical plane as is normal in many such mechanisms. Therefore the pin 82 attached to the key cylinder is always adjacent the edge 83C of the slot in the position shown in FIG. 5. Subsequent movement of the bolt up and down by use of the manual member 80 does not move the key cylinder since the slot 83 is long enough to permit vertical movement of the bolt and pin 82 between the locked and unlocked positions. During such bolt movement the pin rides along the Wall `234C without contacting the slot corners. Thus, the latch may be set to the latched or unlatched states by operation of the member 80 or by turning a key 41 in the key `cylinder 40 from inside or outside the door respectively.

Also provided is a safety lock mounted on the latch and accessible from inside the door, which lock can be m-ovedfor disabling the key mechanism to prevent the unlatching of the door from the outside. As shown best in FIG. 5, the safety lock includes a safety locking lever 85 having a lever portion 86 which lies in a ilat bottomed recess 87 (FIG. 1) in the outside face of the front plate 26 of the latch (FIG. 1) and which is supported for rotation between the on and positions. The locking lever includes an offset portion 88 which extends to the interior of the face plate 26 through a bore 89 at the top edge of the recess 87 (FIG. 3) from which an arm 90 extends upwardly along the plate back surface 48. The locking lever is held in place between the front surface of the bolt 42 and the back surface 48 of the plate 26 and is positioned by the bore 89 through which the lever extends. Thus the locking lever may be pivoted about the offset portion to bring a lug 91 on the arm 90 into alinement with either of two small indentations (not shown) on the inner face of the face plate, which indentations hold the locking lever in either the on and 0H position corresponding to being turned in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction respectively.

When the locking lever is in the 017 position (FIG. 8), the latch functions as heretofore described and may be unlocked by actuation of either the inside manual operator or the outside key mechanism. However, when the locking lever is placed in the on position, an abutment or head 92 on the arm 90 of the locking lever is pivoted to the right (FIG. 7) and into the path of the pin 82 (FIG. 7) thereby preventing downward movement of the pin vertically to the unlatched position. In this manner the key mechanism is prevented from moving the bolt to the unlatched position and the latch may not be unlatched lfrom outside the door.

The latch still may be unlatched from inside the door even though the safety lock is on. Furthermore, the safety lock is always set in the o# condition when the bolt is actuated to the unlatched position, and may not be moved to the on condition unless the bolt is already in the latched position. Thus the door can be both unlatched and unlocked by merely moving the manual lever 86, thereby simplifying the opening of the door from the inside when the latch is locked in requiring only the one manipulation of the manual member 80. For this purpose, a stud 93 extends from the elongated portion 46 of the bolt (FIG. 7) which acts as a connection, when the locking lever is turned to the on condition as shown and the bolt is moved to the unlatched position, for contacting the edge or abutment 90a on the locking lever and turning the arm 90 in the counterclockwise direction to move the locking lever to the of condition. Thus if the latch is placed in the latched position and the locking lever is moved to the on condition to prevent the door from being unlatched from the outside, the manual operator 80 need only be moved downward to the unlatched position to both unlock and unlatch the latch in a single motion. Further, when the bolt is in the unlatched position shown in FIG. 8., and the stud 93 on the bolt contacts the edge 90a of the locking lever and prevents the pivoting of the locking lever to the on condition. Thus the latch cannot be locked when set in the unlatched position thereby preventing unintentional locking of the door as it is closed.

We claim as our invention:

1. A door latch for sliding doors and the like mounted on a frame for movement from an open to a closed position adjacent a stile, said latch having in combination, a support adapted for mounting in an opening in the door, a strike adapted to be mounted on the stile and including a projection extending into said door opening as the door is closed, a bolt mounted on said support for movement relative to said support between latched and unlatched positions, a hook carried by said bolt for interlocking with said projection in said opening when the door is closesd and the bolt is moved to the latched position to thereby prevent opening of the door, a manual member accessible from one side of the door for moving said bolt, a key mechanism accessible from the other side of said door for moving said bolt, a locking lever accessible from the one side of said door and movable between on and o# positions, said lever including means for disabling said key mechanism from moving said bolt when in the on position, an abutment on said bolt positioned in said opening when the bolt is set in the latched position for contacting said projection as the door is closed and camming the bolt to the unlatched position to thereby prevent unintentional latching of the latch, a connection between the locking lever and bolt for moving the locking lever to the off position as the latch is moved to the unlatched position, and an abutment on said bolt for contacting and preventing movement on the locking lever to the on position when the bolt is in the unlatched position to prevent the unintentional locking of the latch.

2.. A door latch for sliding doors and the like mounted on a frame for movement from an open to a closed position adjacent a stile, said latch having in combination, a support adapted for mounting in an opening in the door, a strike adapted to be mounted on the stile and including a projection extending into said door opening as the door is closed, a bolt mounted on said support for movement relative to said support between latched and unlatched positions, a hook carried by said bolt for interlocking with said projection in said opening when the door is closed and the bolt is moved to the latched position to thereby prevent opening of the door, a mechanism accessible from one side said door for actuating said bolt to said positions, a locking lever accessible from the other side of said door and movable to on and a positions including means for disabling said mechanism when moved to the on position, an abutment on said bolt positioned in said opening when the bolt is set in the latched position for contacting said projection as the door is closesd and for camming the bolt to the unlatched position to thereby prevent unintentional latching of the door, a connection between said locking lever and bolt for moving the lever t-o the oy? position when the bolt is moved to the unlatched position, and an abutment on said bolt for contacting and preventing movement of the locking lever to the on position when the bolt is set in the unlatched position to thereby prevent unintentional locking of the latch.

3. A door latch for sliding doors and the like mounted on a frame for movement from an open to a closed position adjacent a stile, said latch having in combination, a support adapted for mounting on a door, a strike adapted to be mounted on the stile and including a projection extending to a point adjacent said support when the door is closed, a `bolt mounted on said support for movement between latched and unlatched positions, a mechanism for moving the bolt to the latched and unlatched positions, means carried by said bolt interlocking with said projection when the door is closed and the bolt is moved to the latched position to prevent opening of the door, an abutment for engaging the strike as the door is closed with the bolt in the latched position and for movsing the bolt to the unlatched position to thereby prevent unintentional latching of the door, a locking lever carried by said support and movable between on and oj positions including means to disable said mechanism from moving said bolt when the lever is in the 0n position, a connection between said bolt and locking lever for moving said lever to the off position when the bolt is moved to the unlatched position, and means preventing movement of the locking Jever to the on position when the bolt is set in the unlatched position to thereby prevent unintentional locking of the latch.

`4. A door latch for sliding doors and the like mounted in a frame for movement from an open to a closed position adjacent a stile, said latch having in combination, a support adapted for mounting on the door, a strike adapted for mounting on the stile and having a projection extending adjacent the support -when the door is moved closed, a bolt carried by said support for movement between latched and unlatched positions, Imeans on said bolt interlocking with said projection when the door is moved closed and the bolt is moved to the latched position to thereafter prevent opening of the door, a mechanism for moving the bolt between the latched and unlatched positions, a locking lever movable between on and O positions including means for disabling said mechanism from moving said bolt when the lever is in the on position, a connection between said lever and bolt for moving said lever to the a position when the zbolt is moved to the unlatched position, and an abutment for preventing movement of the lever to the on position when the bolt is in the unlatched position to thereby prevent the unintentional locking of the door.

5. A door latch for sliding doors and the like Imounted in a frame for movement from an open position to a closed position with an edge adjacent a stile, said latch having in combination, a support adapted for mounting on the door, a strike adapted for mounting on the stile and having a projection extending towards the latch, a bolt carried by said support for movement between the latched and unlatched positions, means carried by said bolt for interlocking with said projection when the 1door is closed and the bolt is moved to the latched position, a mechanism for moving the bolt between the latched and unlatched positions, a locking lever mounted on said support movable between on and of? positions and including means for disabling said mechanism from moving said bolt when the lever is moved to the on position, and means to prevent the lever from being moved to the on position when the bolt is moved to the unlatched position to thereby prevent unintentional blocking of the door as it is closed with the bolt moved to the latched position.

6. A door latch for sliding doors and the like mounted in a frame for movement from an open position to a closed position with an edge adjacent a stile, said latch having in combination, a support adapted for mounting in an opening in the door, a strike adapted for mounting on the stile in a position adjacent the door edge when the door is moved closed, a bolt carried by said support for sliding movement between the latched and unlatched positions relatively to said strike, said strike including a wall member having a surface facing said stile, a hook carried by said bolt in a position for movement between said surface and stile when the bolt is moved to the latched position to thereby prevent opening of the door, a manual member accessible from one side of said door for `moving said bolt, a mechanism accessible from the other side of said door and movable relative to said bolt, a pin carried by said mechanism for engaging and moving said bolt when the mechanism is moved, a locking lever mounted on said support and accessible from the one side of said door for move-ment between on and H positions, and an abutment carried by said lever shiftable into the path of said mechanism to prevent the latter from moving when the lever is set to the on position thereby to prevent unlatching of the latch from the other side of the door, and a connection between the lever and bolt for moving the lever to the of? position each time the bolt is moved to the unlatched position to prevent unintentional locking of the door.

7. A door latch for sliding doors and the like mounted in a frame for movement from an open position to a closed position with an edge adjacent a stile, said latch having in combination, a support adapted for mounting in an opening in the door, a strike adapted for mounting on the stile adjacent the door and including a projection positioned to extend into said opening when the door is closed, a bolt carried by said support .for movelment transverse to said strike in said opening and between latched and unlatched positions, means interlocking said bolt and strike when the projection is positioned in said opening and the bolt is moved to the latched p0- sition, a manual member accessible from one side of said door for moving said bolt, a mechanism accessible from the other side of said door and carried by said support for moving said bolt between the latched and unlatched positions when actuated, a locking lever accessible from the one side of said door and carried by said support for movement between on and of? positions, said locking lever including means to block actuation of said mechanism when the lever is moved to the on position thereby disabling the mechanism from moving said bolt, and a connection between said bolt and lever for moving said lever to the O position when the bolt is moved to the unlatched position to enable unlatching and unlocking of the latch simultaneously.

8. A door latch for sliding doors and the like mounted in a trame for movement from an open position to a closed position with an edge adjacent a stile, said latch having in combination, a support adapted to t into the leading edge of the door and having an opening in the side facing the door stile, a strike adapted to mount on the stile in position to t into said support opening when the door is closed, a bolt mounted within said support for movement transverse to said strike in said opening between latched and unlatched positions, a hook carried by said bolt for engaging said strike in said opening when the bolt is moved to the latched position, a manual member connected with said bolt and extending outside said support to one side of said door for moving the bolt, a key mechanism connected with said bolt and extending outside said support to the other side of said door for moving the bolt when actuated, a locking lever movable between on and aff positions and including means for disabling said key mechanism from moving said bolt when moved to the on position, an abutment on said bolt overlapping said support opening when the bolt is in the latched position for engaging the strike as it enters the latch as the door is closed and moving the bolt to the unlatched position, and a connection between said bolt and said locking lever for moving the locking lever to the o# position when the bolt is moved to the unlatched position for unlocking the door as it is unlatched.

9. A door latch for sliding doors and the like mounted in a frame for movement from an open to a closed position with an edge adjacent a stile, said latch having in combination, a support adapted for mounting in an opening in the door, a strike adapted for mounting on the stile adjacent the door and including a projection positioned to extend into said opening when the door is closed, a bolt carried by said support for movement between latched and unlatched positions, means interlocking said bolt and strike when the projection is positioned in said opening and the bolt is set in the latched position to prevent openmg of the door, a manual member accessible from one side of said door for moving said bolt, .a mechanism for moving said bolt accessible from the one side of said door, a locking lever carried by said support for movement between on and O positions, said locking lever including means for disabling said mechanism from moving said bolt when the lock is in the on position, and a connection between said bolt and locking lever for moving said locking lever to the o# position when the bolt is moved to the unlatched position.

10. A door latch for sliding doors and the like mounted on a frame for movement between an open position and a closed position in which an edge of the door is adjacent a stile on said frame, said latch having in combination, an elongated support adapted to be mounted in an opening in the door adjacent and parallel to said door edge, one end portion having an elongated channel opening inwardly of the door, an elongated slide disposed behind the other end portion and having an end projecting into said channel, said slide end and said channel coacting to guide said slide for longitudinal movement between active and inactive positions and said slide end having a linger grip disposed in said channel in both positions of said slide, means on said support for guiding the other end of said slide, a strike adapted to be mounted on said stile adjacent said support, and a bolt carried by said slide to engage said strike when the slide is in said active position and to be free of the strike when the slide is in said inactive position.

11. A door latch as defined in claim 10 in which said means for guiding said other end of said slide includes a resilient element urging the slide against said support.

12. A door latch yas defined in claim 10 including a rotatable key cylinder mounted on said support and having a key-receiving opening on the outside of the door and a part carried by said cylinder and engaging said slide to move the slide between said active and inactive positions as the cylinder is turned back and forth.

13. A door latch as defined in claim 12 including a member mounted on said support to be manually movable from inside the door and selectively operable to prevent said cylinder from moving said slide out of said active position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,253,495 8/ 1941 Cordrey 70-97 2,917,915 12/1959 Rainman 70-100 3,173,716 3/1965 Silvers 292-147 3,216,229 11/1965 Moncada 70-97 10 MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner.

EDWARD i. MCCARTHY, Assistant Examiner.

Disclaimer 3,390,557.Karl H. Erickson and Richard L. Bz'llal, Rockford, Ill. DOOR LATCH. Patent dated July 2, 1968. Disclaimer filed Nov. 23, 1970, by the assignee, Amerock Corporation. Hereb enters this disclaimer to claim 10 of said patent.

[ cal Gazette March 2, 1971.] 

